This invention relates to vehicle article carriers, and more particularly to a vehicle article carrier incorporating a tap plate having angled edge portions which are adapted to engage with corresponding angled flanges of a slat to enable a bracket assembly to be even more positively secured to the slat.
Vehicle article carriers are used in a wide variety of applications for securing articles of various sizes thereon. Typically, a vehicle article carrier includes a pair of slats or side rails that are secured along a major longitudinal length of the vehicle roof or rear deck lid. One or more cross bars having a bracket assembly at each end is secured to the slats or side rails so as to extend perpendicularly between the slats or side rails. Within each slat or side rail is disposed a tap plate. The tap plate may be threadably engaged with a user actuatable, rotatable locking knob or like element which allows the user to effectively lock each end of the cross bar at a desired position along its associated slat or side rail. Thus, the cross bar can be positioned along the slats or side rails as needed to accommodate a variety of articles having widely varying shapes and dimensions.
The tap plate that is typically used with a slat or side rail is a flat, spring steel plate. The tap plate is disposed within a channel of the slat or side rail and typically engages co-planar wall portions of the slat or side rail as the user actuatable locking element is tightened into a locked position. This causes the bracket assembly associated therewith to be effectively clamped by the tap plate to the slat or side rail.
When using a planar tap plate that is adapted to engage with co-planar wall portions of a slat or side rail, however, care must be taken not to over tighten the user actuatable locking element. Overtightening can result in the tap plate tending to xe2x80x9cspreadxe2x80x9d apart the co-planar wall portions of the slat or side rail, thus tending to deform, and potentially damage, the side rail or slat. Accordingly, it would be highly desirable to provide a slat or side rail construction, and a tap plate for use therewith, which cooperatively help to maintain the intended cross sectional shape of the side rail or slat as the tap plate is tightened within the slat or side rail. This would reduce or eliminate the risk of damage to the slat or side rail as the tap plate is tightened.
It would also be highly desirable to provide a slat or side rail construction for use in connection with a tap plate which does not require significant modification to the shape of the side rail or slat. It would further be desirable to provide such a slat or side rail construction which would still allow the slat or side rail to be extruded or roll formed in accordance with traditional manufacturing techniques.
The above and other objects are provided by a vehicle article carrier in accordance with preferred embodiments of the present invention. In one preferred embodiment the vehicle article carrier includes a pair of support rails which are adapted to be mounted on an outer body surface of the vehicle essentially parallel to one another, and along a major longitudinal length of the vehicle. Each support rail is shaped so as to form a channel. Within the channel of each support rail is disposed a tap plate. The support rails support at least one cross bar having a bracket assembly at each end thereof. Each bracket assembly has a user actuatable locking element which is engaged with a portion of the tap plate of its associated slat once the vehicle article carrier is fully assembled. The user actuatable locking elements are used to clamp bracket assemblies to the support rails at desired positions along the support rails.
Each of the support rails includes a pair of flanges protruding inwardly towards a bottom wall of the slat. Each tap plate includes at least one angled edge portion, and preferably a pair of angled edge portions. The angled edge portions are formed such that they engage flush with the flanges when the tap plate is tightened within its associated slat. Importantly, the engagement of the angled edge portions of the tap plate and the flanges help to ensure that the flanges are not xe2x80x9cspread apartxe2x80x9d as the tap plate is tightened. This ensures that the cross sectional shape of the slat or side rail is maintained even when its associated bracket assembly is fully clamped thereto.
The tap plate and support rail construction of the preferred embodiment can be employed when the support rail is formed as either a slat or a side rail. In either instance, the inwardly angled flanges and the tap plate having its angled edge portions serve to maintain the intended cross sectional shape of the slat or support rail even when the bracket assembly is clamped tightly thereon.